Chanukah And a Jewish Christmas #253
By Hank Silverberg
Happy Chanukah. The Jewish Festival of Lights, which lasts eight days and eight nights, is underway this week.
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It's important for everyone, Jews and non-Jews, to understand the significance of this holiday. It is a commemoration of a military victory more than two thousand years ago in a battle for religious freedom. A small group of Jews, led by the Maccabees, resisted and defeated an attempt by the Greek-oriented Assyrians to wipe out Judaism. In 168 B.C.E., the Assyrians destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and threatened to kill all Jews who did not convert to their religion.
This is the FIRST recorded battle to protect freedom of religion in world history, though obviously not the last.
For American Jews who have thrived in a free society and under the protection of the almost sacred First Amendment, such a commemoration is important.
It's also relevant to remember this as millions of Christians, both religious and secular, get ready to celebrate what many say is the most popular holiday on Earth.
Christmas can be awkward for non-Christians who often feel left out and who are sometimes pressured into doing things with which they are not comfortable.
That has always been the case for Jews, particularly in America where we have assimilated in most other ways.
Jews do not believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah and have been persecuted many times in the past for not believing. We are reminded of this a lot this time of each year.
I write this to make a point. There has been a spike in antisemitism across the United States and the world in 2022. It is very uncomfortable for those of us who are Jewish, especially when a former president implies that we are somehow disloyal to a country to which we have given so much--from scientific and medical breakthroughs to military service, and even to Christmas songs.
Christmas songs? You can't compare them to the work of scientists like Albert Einstein or Richard Setlow (my first cousin once removed), but more Americans can relate to popular songs than physics.
The Jewish contribution to the Christian holiday in America should not go unnoticed. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the 11 most popular Christmas season songs, all written by Jews.
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| (Verse one of The Christmas Song) |
A list of the top 11 all-time Christmas songs written by Jews includes:
1) The Christmas Song-Mel Tome (1946)
2) Let It Snow -Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)
3) Santa Baby --Joan Javis and Phil Springer (1953)
4) It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year --George Wylie and Eddie Pola (born Benard Weissman and Sidney Edward Pollacsek) (1963)
5) Silver Bells-- Ray Evans and Jay Livingston (1952)
6) White Christmas --Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin) (1947)
7-10) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1949), Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, (1958) A Holly, Jolly Christmas (1962) and Silver and Gold --Johnny Marks (1964)
(The Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer story that the song is based on was written by Robert Louis May--also Jewish.)
11) Walkin in a Winter Wonderland--Felix Bernard and (Richard B. Smith, who wrote the poem the song is based on, was not Jewish) (1934)
All of these composers were Jewish. And there are more too numerous to list.
Why? One reason: Jews were very active in the music composing business in 20th century America, so they naturally wanted to write songs that would be popular.
But there are other reasons.
Take for example the story about Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Robert May wrote the poem on commission from Montgomery Ward, the department store, which was looking for a cartoon-type story to put in its popular holiday coloring book.
The story itself connects with Jews. Rudolph with his strange nose was not welcome by the others in his neighborhood because he was different--at least not until his unique talents were desperately needed. May wrote the story about his own childhood experience with antisemitism. This is also something thousands of Jewish immigrants from the late 19th and early 20th centuries could relate to.
So, this week, when someone says Happy Chanukah, don't look confused. Celebrate the diversity of the American experience.
Happy Channukah
Merry Christmas!
ET Phone Home
E-T won't be phoning home for the holidays. His arrival here has apparently been greatly exaggerated. At least that's what the Pentagon says.
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| (Courtesy DOD) |
A government report issued last year has documented more than 140 cases near U.S. military facilities since 2004 that were considered unidentified aerial phenomena, and all but one remains unexplained. A senior Navy official said in May the total number of cases of this type has already reached 400. They continue to conduct all kinds of research.
Since the 1950's, there have been thousands of unidentified objects reported in the sky across the world. But there's never been any specific evidence of an alien life form coming to Earth.
A previous Air Force investigation called Project Blue Book, which ended in 1969, had compiled 12,618 reports of UFO's, 701 of which officially remain unidentified.
Vaccines Are Life Savers
More than a million Americans have died from the Covid-19 pandemic which began in early 2020.
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https://www.statnews.com/2022/12/13/covid-vaccines-prevented-3-million-deaths/
Covid is still with us. The World Health Organization says as of Sunday, Dec 18, the global death toll from the virus was 6,671,732.
Despite the success of the vaccine, Covid still killed more than 9,000 Americans in November because of people returning to normal activities and shunning the booster shots being offered.
With the recent uptick in cases and many people planning trips over the holidays, the federal government is again making Covid home testing kits available for free. https://www.covid.gov/tests
Despite all the conspiracy theories and disinformation that has been spread on-line, the Covid vaccines and the boosters have produced only a very small number of side effects.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
The dishonor this week goes to Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin who has proposed a budget with a $1 billion tax cut. Not a bad suggestion by itself since the state had a surplus last year, but in context there is a regressive theme. Here's the quote.
“We can grow our way to lower tax rates. We can keep Virginians here, including our veterans. We can attract people from other states and fuel the economic engine that will drive it all even faster."
But his solution is what makes the comment dumb. He wants to lower individual income tax rates from 5.7% to 5.5%. Sure, okay. But at the same time, he wants to lower CORPORATE income tax rates from 6% to 5%. Really, governor? Individuals pay 5.5% and big corporations pay only 5%. That is totally backwards. Corporations which make billions of dollars in profit should always pay a higher rate than the working class. But Youngkin's plan is typical of Conservative Republicans who don't live in the real world. Expect the voters to scream! Of course, Youngkin is limited to one term by the Virginia Constitution, so he doesn't care what the voters think. But the entire General Assembly is up for election in 2023. Since they have to answer to the voters, expect a lot of rejection.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-
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